Canto 9 · 4 moments
Ambarīṣa Mahārāja
Composure in the face of anger
A steady heart is more powerful than retaliation
- 1Where it begins
Ambarīṣa remains devoted and non-retaliatory when Durvāsā Muni becomes enraged.
- 2The test
Can humility remain intact when one is unjustly attacked?
- 3The turn
He entrusts the result to the Lord and prays for the sage’s welfare.
- 4What it teaches
His devotion is already established; the conflict reveals its quiet strength.
The journey
Moment by moment
Tap a point or a step
Moment 1 of 4 · SB 9.4
A life of devotion
Ambarīṣa centers his activities and senses on the Lord.
The heart here: Steady servicePressure 3 · Bhakti 10
In the verse · SB 9.4.18-20
“Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord’s temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa or about Kṛṣṇa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s temples and Kṛṣṇa’s places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord’s devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord’s prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.”
A question to carry
When attacked, can I defend what matters without feeding revenge?
Read alongside